Tag: healthy habits

5 Morning Rituals to Get Your Day off to the Best Start Ever!

I’m a writer. I write Science fiction, dabbling in Fantasy here and there. But I don’t do any writing until I finish my morning rituals.

What do I mean?

I used to work for Anthony Robbins. He taught us several amazing routines to get our day started on the right track. I still use some of his routines today while incorporating others that also seem to work well.

A brief background: I used to be a sports therapist with almost twenty years experience in that business, teaching healthy habits, better posture and correct walking patterns to my clients, along with performing deep tissue massage, propreoceptive neuromuscular facilitation, and osteopathic-like techniques. That was a mouthful. I just wanted to give you a quick credibility check.

I digress…

…and to the rituals we go.

~ Ritual One ~

Make Your Bed.

The first thing I do in the morning is make my bed. It’s quick and it’s easy. It tells your mind and body that you are ready to start the day. My son taught me this from his military training.

Why is this important? It only takes one minute and starts a healthy habit for the day. It’s a constructive and organized routine that equals movement, accomplishment, and it is your first “success” of the day. It’s the first goal you tackle, and the first goal you complete. I even read somewhere that making your bed in the morning kicks off a ripple effect to better overall decisions throughout your day. You’re taking the morning by the horns and telling the day that you are ready, in control, and are willing to achieve your goals.

The effect of this routine is priceless. It not only gives you a greater sense of well being, it also brings organization to your life — immediately. Believe it or not, the more you do this ritual, the more your thoughts and actions become organized. An organized room eventually leads to an organized home. An organized home reduces stress and creates a clarity of mind.

There’s a lot of “organized” in that last paragraph.

The best part? It only takes a minute to make your bed.

~ Ritual Two ~

Drink lemon water.

If you look up the benefits of lemon water, it will lead you to thousands of google results. This is something that Anthony Robbins taught me, and it’s something I do every morning.

Water should be the first thing you consume after waking up. Why? You’ve spent all night taking shallow breaths. Sometimes — and this isn’t for everyone — you may have spent a minute in the night not breathing at all, or snoring, or, or, or…

What has accumulated through the night with that type of breathing? Toxins. Lemon water is one of the quickest ways to detox and refresh your body, bringing more vitality to you within the first few minutes of your day.

So, the first thing one should do after making their bed is to get some filtered water, pour it in an 8 to 12 oz glass, and either place a drop of doTERRA’s lemon oil (like I do) in that glass of water, or cut an organic lemon in half, and squeeze that half of lemon into that glass of water.

Don’t gulp it down. Drink it slowly. Ideally, you want to enjoy it while doing the next ritual.

~ Ritual Three ~

Daily Gratification.

Grab a pen and paper, or your journal. Write ten things that you are grateful for in this moment. If you’re broke, be grateful that you have money. If you are rich, be grateful you have money. Do you see that? Just. Be. Grateful. What will it harm? Nothing. What will you gain? Everything.

Do you like the wind that is flowing through your window and touching your skin? Write that down and be grateful for it.

Here is a few from my list:

I am grateful for the talk I had with my daughter last night.

I am grateful that my counseling session yesterday as it helped me with my financial questions.

I am grateful that my books are selling better than ever.

I am grateful…

…you get the point. Gratitude is one of the best, if not the best, magnets to a more fulfilling life. The more you get into this habit, the more your life will transform. Don’t be afraid to open up when you are writing these gratitudes. And, try not to be surprised if you start to tear up. Tears cleanse the soul.

*Side Note that I learned from Lia Dunlap about goals: If you have goals that you would like to accomplish, then after you have completed your ten gratitudes, this is a good time to visualize the end result of your goal(s), feeling what you would feel when you accomplish your goal(s), imagine you have already achieved your goal(s) and placing yourself in the picture, and fill that picture with as much detail as possible.

~ Ritual Four ~

Exercise.

Even for just five or ten minutes. I exercise between twenty and forty minutes every morning. I exercise on something called the cellerciser, a specially made mini-trampoline that folds up and can be stored anywhere without hassle.

If you’d rather get outside and go for a ten, twenty, or sixty minute walk, then even better. Being in nature is one of the best ways to ground and re-energize, plus walking everyday is extremely healthy.

Whatever exercise you do, do it well and with intention to better your day. Always try to improve your daily exercise from one day to the next. Walk an extra mile today, or run an extra minute. The idea is to increase your activity from one day to the next. This tells your body, soul, and mind that you are increasing and improving your life.

~ Ritual Five ~

Smoothie.

This is my favorite of all my rituals. Why? Because it tastes so dang good. Do this after you exercise.

If you have a blender or a vitamix, then this is for you. I like to change my smoothies up every so often as to not dull myself with the same ingredients every morning, but for this writing, I’ll just give you one recipe. A yummy smoothie I had recently:

1 organic banana

1 organic orange

A handful of organic strawberries

A handful of organic frozen strawberries

1 tablespoon of grade B maple syrup (great mineral content)

1 tablespoon of spirulina (a superfood)

A half a cup of organic coconut milk or filtered water (I use filtered water on most days)

~ Ritual 6 ~

I start writing. I’ve been able to improve my writing because of these basic rituals. I type faster regarding word count (how many words I can type an hour), plus I have a clearer, more organized mind. Overall, I simply can get more done throughout the day.

~ ~ ~

I know, I told you there were only 5 rituals. In truth, we have a dozen or more rituals we do daily, either consciously or unconsciously. The best rituals are the ones that start our day off right because it cascades into the rest of the day.

I hope this helped you a little bit or a lot. I wrote it as laymen as I could, so everyone could get the gist of my 5 morning rituals.

Also, remember to click on the heart after reading this. It gets more readers to this article and if you feel this article helped you in some way, then paying it forward is another good ritual to include, or continue, in your life.